Arbitration
Why arbitrate?
Arbitration resolves matters efficiently without going to court; it also lets parties have done with their differences. Parties' matters are heard with minimal delays, and a decision is rendered within twenty-eight days of final written submissions or the hearing, as the case may be.
Wait less
Have your case settled with written submissions.
Book a convenient hearing date.
Get a decision faster.
Spend less
Prepare your case faster, without complex pleadings.
Sliding scale rates.
Fewer legal fees.
The Arbitrator
Adam has a law degree (JD) and a graduate degree (MA) from the University of Ottawa. His experience in the past decade with university governance, legal research, labour and employment law, and legislative procedure gives him a range of tools that he uses to arbitrate disputes.
What that means for parties, regardless of their industry and circumstances, is that they gain certainty of their situation in short order. That certainty is as valuable as a win in a courtroom. There’s less anxiety involved because there is less waiting. Costs are significantly reduced.
Adam focuses on small claims and landlord-tenant issues. These fields are rife with disputes that can be resolved via simple arbitration before they become longstanding difficulties.
Employment disputes are another area of interest for which Adam provides low-cost arbitration. He has experience with both sides of employment and labour relations as a union president and an employer-side researcher.
Adam is also well-read in burgeoning contract, labour, and employment issues associated with Industry 4.0 through academic and journalistic research. Manufacturing and skilled labour will be increasingly displaced by automata. 3D printing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence will radically change working life. He is equipped to tackle these issues alongside more traditional arbitral concerns.
His publications and experience with university administration also make him an ideal arbitrator for academic disputes.
Adam Strömbergsson-DeNora
Arbitration Services
Sliding scale rates
All services may be delivered in either official language.
Arbitral decisions are delivered in both official languages upon request.
Arbitration
The application of law to facts. Where possible, the arbitrator will rule on matters at the hearing, with reasons to follow. More complex matters will be reserved for decision.
Amiable composition
Parties submit to arbitration, but expressly permit the arbitrator to depart from legal rules to instead decide cases based only on the merit of the parties’ positions, conduct, and future prospects. The arbitrator may make a traditional award, impose new contract terms, or remove contract terms.
Interest arbitration
This is sometimes known as final offer arbitration. It is used to settle the terms in a contract. The arbitrator breaks deadlocks in bargaining or contract negotiation by deciding which of the parties’ positions is included in the clauses submitted to arbitration.
Parties may also request assistance drafting articles in collective agreements, employment agreements, and commercial agreements.
Rules & Forms
Interpretation
1 (1) Arbitration is subject to the arbitration agreement made between the parties and the arbitrator, which must be made with regard for the arbitration legislation existing in the jurisdiction in which the proceeding is commenced.
(2) In applying these rules and the terms of the arbitration agreement, the arbitrator will make orders and give directions that are proportionate to the importance and complexity of the issues, and to the amount involved, in the proceeding.Â
(3) Where matters are not provided for in these rules, the practice will be determined by analogy to them.
(4) The arbitrator has the exclusive authority to interpret any word or provision of the rules or the arbitration agreement.
(5) Either party may request an interpretation from the arbitrator.
Commencement of proceeding
2 An arbitral proceeding commences when the arbitration agreement is signed by the parties and the arbitrator.
Official languages
3Â The languages of arbitration are English and French, and either may be used interchangeably during a proceeding provided that both parties can understand each other.
Method of correspondence
4 All correspondence connected to the proceeding, including correspondence that delivers documents to the parties and the arbitrator, must be sent using electronic mail.
Arbitrator’s powers
5 (1) The arbitrator has the power necessary to efficiently and impartially conclude the proceeding.
(2) Without limiting the general power provided in sub-rule (1), the arbitrator has power to
- adjourn the proceeding from time to time;
- order the inspection of documents, exhibits, or other property;
- order the recording or transcription of any part of an oral hearing;
- extend or abridge any period of time required by these rules or by a previous interim order;
- make interim orders that do not deal with the substance of the dispute;
- request further statements clarifying issues in dispute; and
- request court assistance in taking evidence.
Timeline for proceeding
6 (1) The arbitrator establishes a timeline for the conduct of the proceeding after consulting with the parties.Â
Requirements of timeline
(2) Unless otherwise ordered, the proceeding timeline must include:
- the delivery of a statement of claim;
- the delivery of a statement of defense and, where necessary, any counterclaim;
- the production of evidence; and
- the delivery of an agreed statement of facts.
Written proceeding
7 (1) The arbitration is conducted on the basis of written submissions and evidence.
(2) An oral hearing may be ordered at a party’s request.
(3) The arbitrator’s order for an oral hearing must amend the timeline for the conduct of the proceeding to specify the hearing’s date, time, and location.
Interim decisions
8 The arbitrator makes interim decisions on his own initiative or at a party’s request after receiving arguments from the parties.
Pleadings
9 (1) A statement of claim must set out:
- the facts supporting the claim;
- the grounds, including applicable principles of law and equity, that support the claim;
- the points in issue; and
- the relief or remedy that the claimant is seeking.
(2) A statement of defence must include:
- the facts supporting the defense;
- the grounds, including applicable principles of law and equity, that support the defense;
- the points in issue; and
- the relief or remedy that the defendant is seeking.
(3) When necessary, a counterclaim is initiated by including the information required for a statement of claim with respect to the counterclaim in the statement of defense.
(4) A statement defined in this section must be accompanied by access to all documents referred to in the statement.
Agreed statement of facts
10 (1) Unless otherwise instructed, the parties must produce a joint statement of facts that neither of them dispute.
(2) After submitting the joint statement required by sub-rule (1), each party must prepare and file a list detailing the documents and other evidence
that are in the party’s possession, control or power and that the party does not object to producing;
that are or were in the party’s possession, control or power and for which the party claims privilege, and the grounds for the claim; and
that were formerly in the party’s possession, control or power, but are no longer in the party’s possession, control or power, whether or not privilege is claimed for them, together with a statement of when and how the party lost possession or control of or power over them and their present location.
Production of evidence
11Â As soon as practicable after the documents required by rule 10 are received, the arbitrator will request the production of any documents evidence that he considers material to establish the facts of the case, and the parties must produce such documents or evidence without delay.
Admissible evidence at the arbitrator’s discretion
12Â (1) The arbitrator may accept oral, written, or any other type of evidence as the arbitrator in his discretion considers proper, whether admissible in a court of law or not.
(2) The arbitrator may, in the presence of the parties or their representatives, inspect any documents or real or personal property connected with the proceeding.
Request for production of evidence
13 (1) A party may request an order for the production of evidence from another party by showing to the arbitrator that the evidence is
- not in the control or possession of the requesting party;
- relevant to the matter before the arbitrator;
- not included in the list produced by the other party pursuant to rule 10(2); andÂ
- assumed to be in the control or possession of the disclosing party.
(2) The arbitrator will deny production where he ascertains that the requested evidence isÂ
- missing particulars such that the precise nature of the evidence is inascertainable;
- protected from production by a recognized category of privilege; or
- lost or destroyed.
(3) Nothing in this section restricts the arbitrator’s ability to deny production where such production would be disproportionate to the importance and complexity of the issues, and to the amout involved, in the proceeding.
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Close of proceedings
14 The arbitrator closes proceedings when the timeline created by rule 6 ends.
Decision
15 The arbitrator renders a final decision in writing within 28 days of the close of proceedings.
Functus officio
16 The arbitrator loses jurisdiction if one of the following events occurs:
- when the matter is settled;
- when the matter is abandoned;
- 30 days after a final decision is rendered in the matter; or
- the matter is otherwise concluded.
These forms will be provided once an arbitration agreement is signed by both parties.
Pre-arbitration
Initiate arbitration
Reply to initiated arbitration
Arbitration
Statement of claim
Statement of defense & counterclaim
Agreed statement of facts